A RECORD-BREAKING racer is returning to Pendine beach, this weekend, May 18-19, with hopes pinned on smashing the highest speed ever achieved at the sands by a wheel-powered vehicle.

Zef Eisenberg and the MADMAX Race Team, better known for racing motorbikes, is making a switch to four wheels in hope of hitting the 200mph barrier and beyond in a crazy 1,200hp specially built road legal Porsche 911 Turbo Sand Racer.

The record would not only supersede the Wire' star Idris Elba's 'flying mile' speed record (180.361mph) set at Pendine in 2015 but also emulates his hero – Sir Malcolm Campbell, who first set the record at Pendine Sands in 1927 (174.8mph) in the iconic Blue Bird - a record that stood for nearly 90 years.

Just last month Zef established a flying mile record at the sands, racing a 400bhp supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle that was built and prepared by his MADMAX Racing Team, with a 182.49mph two-way-average flying-mile measurement.

Had the engine not blown up, it would have been much higher because a GPS speed of 195mph-plus was recorded at the time of an engine failure.

Over the past 12 months the MADMAX Racing Team acquired a 2015 550hp Porsche 911 Turbo and has been carrying out extensive research and development in preparation for the record attempt.

Zef said: “Sand creates a lot of resistance and tyre slip, so we had to work out that we’d need at least 1,000hp at the rear wheels, which equates to a crazy 1,200hp at the engine, compared to just 550hp from a factory car.”

The team has built a bespoke 4.1-litre engine with new internals, plus a new E85 fuel system and cooling set-up. A lot of work was done to ensure that the monstrous power would come in as progressively as possible in order to limit wheelspin on the loose surface.

“Weight is actually your friend on sand,” said Eisenberg. “It’s about stability – putting enough weight on the tyres to increase traction. The car is also road legal, so I can drive it from the hotel on to the beach and hopefully to the pub after to hopefully celebrate.”

Recent testing has proved a great success - with just half the power the car was achieving 220mph in the mile on tarmac.

Spectators are welcome to attend the land speed record attempts in designated safety areas by keeping close to the sand dunes at all times.